KENOSHA, Wis. — Northwestern held out 11 starters and rested another handful with minor injuries, but one man who had an impact on Saturday’s 80-minute scrimmage was a bit of a surprise: Kyle Prater.

When the receiver missed Monday’s and Tuesday’s practices with a knee issue, the feeling was: Uh-oh. Here we go again. In two years at USC, Prater missed time because of hamstring and groin injuries, plus a broken bone in his left foot.

But Prater said that sitting out was a way of “taking care of my body when I feel anything. The coaches know that and the training staff understands that. Whatever it takes to keep me healthy, that is what I am going to do.”

Prater caught the two passes thrown to him Saturday, including a 27-yarder from Zack Oliver on a post route.

“The expectations people set for me, I really don’t look at that,” said Prater, whose goal is to become a starter. “Right now I know I can produce and help this team win ballgames.”

Youth movement: With two weeks before the Sept. 1 season-opener at Syracuse, two freshmen are slated to make the two-deep: defensive end Dean Lowry and superback Dan Vitale (vuh-TAL-ee).

Lowry looked terrific Saturday, drawing a hold from Chuck Porcelli, knocking down a Trevor Siemian pass and getting a tackle-for-loss on a Michael Panico run.

“Just trying to use my strength to shed blockers and make some plays,” he said.

Lowry is imposing at 6 feet 6, 250 pounds and played on Rockford Boylan’s back-to-back state championship teams. Illinois and Iowa also offered scholarships.

“We were very excited about him in recruiting,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said, “and he has been as advertised.”

Who else? Fitzgerald said celebrated recruit Ifeadi Odenigbo (if-AH-dee o-DEN-uh-bo) is in the middle group of freshmen — on the fence of playing versus redshirting. At 226 pounds, he’s light for a defensive end but has the quickness to hunt down opposing quarterbacks.

“He’s in good enough shape, is functionally strong enough to play and is picking the system up pretty well,” Fitzgerald said. “Now we assess: Do we need him to play? Does he want to play? Is his role going to be significant enough to take away the back end? It’s a big decision, and we involve the young man in it.”

By “back end,” Fitzgerald means: “What is he going to be at 265 pounds four years from now compared to 230 or whatever right now? If we’re going to play him, he is going to be in the rotation. We are not going to (have him) waste a year on special teams.”

Extra points: Tailback Venric Mark and cornerback Nick VanHoose were among the 11 held out, meaning they’re slated to start at Syracuse. The others: quarterback Kain Colter, receivers Demetrius Fields and Rashad Lawrence, offensive linemen Brian Mulroe and Brandon Vitabile, defensive linemen Brian Arnfelt and Tyler Scott, linebacker David Nwabuisi and safety Ibraheim Campbell. … University President Morton Schapiro and former board Chairman Patrick Ryan addressed the team. Fitzgerald said of Ryan: “To have him say we have 100 percent backing from the Board of Trustees was a pretty strong statement.” The board can prove that in September by green-lighting NU’s comprehensive facilities plan.